Solving time: 76 mins, mostly with Chambers
I found this considerably harder than most Mephistos, though this may just be down to luck of the draw – three or four obscurities that you happen to know can make a huge difference. I also somehow failed to read 18D for ages – one of the easier answers, which might have got me a bit further. I have one doubtful answer at 5D.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | S(P)ORTS – sort = a woman, esp. an attractive one, and ‘Sports day’ |
| 6 | THE WES(t) – new answer word for me |
| 11 | IN SO LATE – new answer word again, but took longer to see than it should have done |
| 13 | P(E)B,A – a kind of armadillo |
| 14 | Bertie AHERN – A, hero with N=name for O=old |
| 15 | O,KIMONO – a very handy word for the setter |
| 17 | R(OR.)ID – guessed the right wordplay but wrong state at first – ‘rutid’. It might have helped to know that serene = “a supposedly unwholesome night dew”. |
| 22 | H(U,MGR.)UFFIN(g) – another new answer word |
| 27 | FR.,AT,I – mendicant friars. |
| 29 | OVEREYE = to oversee |
| 30 | CAN(d)ID |
| 31 | (drag)OMAN |
| 33 | EXI(GIB)LE |
| 34 | RHEIMS = “reams” |
| 35 | A.,PERSE = ‘a per se’ |
| Down | |
| 1 | S.,P(EARTH,R)OWER – which means “throwing stick” apparently. My athletics background had me thinking of someone throwing the javelin. And something else had me thinking stick (vb.) = ‘spear through’ for quite a while |
| 2 | PI(SHOGU(n))E – here I had one of those outrageous bits of look-up luck. I thought of ‘pish tush’ for “that’s nonsense” and looked it up, not yet having the P from 1A. There for me to find was the answer! |
| 3 | ON(C)ER – someone expected to only serve one term as an Aussie MP |
| 4 | REARING – move an R in ear-ring |
| 5 | SNOOT – I think. The def seems to match ‘snub’, but the rest is a mystery. So I may have the wrong SNOO? word. |
| 8 | ELEMI – hidden word. If you don’t know this old barred-grid favourite, don’t forget it. |
| 9 | W.,A BOOM = wagenboom – a tree used for making wagon wheels – seen in some other puzzle fairly recently |
| 10 | SECOND=supporter, FIDDLE=saw player presumably – the movement of fiddler’s arms is compared to sawing, I think. |
| 16 | K,ERF=garden – a kerf is a notch – another new answer word |
| 18 | REN = run,TIERS = ‘rows after bank’ I think. |
| 20 | GUL(l)Y – guly = ruddy = red – remember gules = red from heraldry? And gully = a big knife |
| 21 | MIRACLE – (R,E,claim)* |
| 23 | MEEMIE = “Mimi” from La Boheme |
| 24 | TRAGI(c) – obstructions of some kind in your outer ear, which is also “pavilion”. |
| 28 | (h)ANKER – an old measure for wines and spirits, of various sizes, all ‘plenty’ if the example in C is anything to go by! |
I have SNOOL for 5d, LOONS(=DIVERS) upside-down.